The field of the disclosure relates generally to notification systems for reporting potential emergencies, and more specifically, systems for notifying users located within an impact of an emergency reported by other users.
Emergency situations are situations that may cause potential harm to people, animals, property, and/or the environment. Emergency situations include natural emergencies, such as landslides, fires, and storms, as well as man-made emergencies, such as chemical leaks, chemical fires, damaged buildings, reported criminals, and the like. Emergency responders (e.g., law enforcement, fire fighters, medical responders, etc.) are trained to prevent or otherwise contain the emergency situation to limit damage and prevent injuries to bystanders. Generally, emergency responders guide bystanders away from the emergency situation to protect the bystanders from potential harm.
In some cases, people near an emergency situation may not even realize the emergency is occurring immediately. For example, a bystander downwind from an airborne chemical leak may be unaware of the leak until the bystander sees or smells the leak, which may be too late for the bystander to avoid harm. Bystanders located in areas that the emergency responders have difficulty accessing (e.g., wooded areas or streets with dense traffic) and bystanders located near emergency situations that develop quickly are particularly prone to being unaware of nearby emergency situations. Moreover, even if the bystander determines an emergency situation is nearby, the bystander may be unable to determine the location of the emergency, and thus may accidentally run towards the emergency rather than away from it.